Fox Skyline Theater

Skyline Boulevard and Sharp Park Road,

San Bruno,
CA94066

Hey Mark….Good to hear from you..Always wondered who unclemaui was! You are thinking of Lorinda Knight, who was always box office. Also, Laura Martinez, Mark Jagger, Mark Frey and Esther Fielding, asst. mgr to me.Esther passed away a couple years ago of cancer. Her son was convicted of murdering the wife of a prominent SF attorney’s wife. Gus Frias and Tracey were the janitors…

I left there for 1 year but returned. I was there til 1975. The 99 cent policy was started just before I left.

Mann Theatres tried to transfer me to Tower Theatre in EAST OAKLAND! I refused to go there, but could not stay at the Fox Skyline because Mann had leased it to a independent.

The manager you are thinking of from the Parkside was Jo Ann Brown…she was the mgr of the Skyline before I came there…No, she was not easy to get along with..She disappeard after Mann closed the Parkside.

How I miss those days! I ended up going to work at Sequoia Hospital….there for 19 years before we moved to Reno to open an assisted living facility here. We sold that after being there for 21 years…..Where are you now and what’s going on in your life??? I remember you so well! Still blonde after all these years?

Mark Menzies, You hired me back then when Loretta was a cashier, and Bert the ticket guy/ candy counter there was one more guy but I cannot remember his name or the other cashier. I cannot remember the Janitors nick name anymore. Richard was the projectionist 2 days a week Lindsey 5 days a week. Too long ago to be exacting. when you left They brought the manager from the Fox Parkside on Taraval street. We were all scared of her. before her arrival at the Skyline I was sent to THE PARKSIDE for the GRAND opening of The Poseidon Adventure, Rumors were she was hard to work for. then a guy from Sacramento managed it. he went back to run the Fox Thunderbird drive-in,in Rancho Cordova. Fox Skyline theater was sold to a guy who tried to run it. His first day open they were robbed.
Things got tough he started 99 cent movies. It was hard keeping liquor and marijuana out of the place. Remember you use to be able to smoke? :) no cigars though :)
My family went to the Fox Skyline the first weeks it opened showing STAGECOACH.
I can still remember getting on the wet slippery fog covered walkway to the change the movie titles.

To this day March 5, 2017 I repeat the time of day. If it has 15 or 50 7:15, fifteen, ONE FIVE or 7:50, fifty, five zero.
I still remember the angry looks on patrons faces when they realize the movie has started or they are too early. :)
I remember you came by at least once after you moved on.

I was kid when this was built. First Safeway, the little restaurant the liquor store the barber shop the dry cleaner I worked there to, Ben Franklin, the theater and THRIFTY where you could get five scoops of ice cream for a quarter

There was Bert who had to walked away from the ticket stand because he had bad gas. at 19 he drove a Lincoln Continental.
Richard was the UNION projectionist. he taught me how to run that arc projector.
I use to dump popcorn on my friends in the back row from the projection booth.

I had so many pictures from movies and posters. I accidentally threw them away. I could retire 10 Years ago if I had them still.

Good night! I happened upon this by sheer accident. Larry Goldsmith hired me back in 1973 I worked there after Fox sold it.
unreal great days great times. Loretta was a cashier and seen Rocky where it was playing in Millbrae 6 times

During 1977 & ‘78, I ran the projectors (yes, they were carbon arc), picked the film cans up at the docks, spliced the reels…all at age 15. Our manager (Betty) was barely in her 20’s. When she left, her replacement (John) was a 21 year old with no theater experience. Occasionally, our paychecks wouldn’t clear the bank. Our biggest crowds came for the midnight showings of 'The Song Remains The Same’ and ‘Pink Floyd’. ‘Rocky Horror’ played at the Serramonte Six, not the Skyline.

That’s because they were usually older and very professional, even though they had a tight union. I never had any problems with the operators or union. California unions back then ran a tight ship, but were also willing to listen to management. Now everything is ran ship-shod.

Yeah,I was in management with ABC,PLitt and GCC.My last year with GCC they were making hints that they wanted the Union guys to start the last show of the night and then have the managers secure the booth. Glad I got out in 1983.I could see what was coming,and i wanted no part of running a booth and a theatre too, I was always lucky to have a “LYNN” in all my booths.Really can’t recall any problems with the Union guys in Augusta or Athens Georgia.

You’re right, and they would not know a change-over cue or curtain cue if it splashed the entire screen. I never ran a booth, just managed. Lynn Adams was our regular projectionist when I was there.You could'nt have asked for better, he was tops.

The Fox Skyline was fully union,(including floor staff)until Mann Theatres leased it out to an independant in 1975. It went downhill from that time on, to the day it closed for good. It was a very nice theatre while operating under National General/Mann Theatres. And yes, we had Peerless Projection with carbon arc lamps.

1977, the Assistant Manager running the movies,acording to Jeannie McLeod.Must have been a non-union house pretty surprizing for California and in 1977 the first wave of automation was hitting newer theatres this one opening in 1966 I bet had Carbon-arc lamps.

All info above is absolutley correct. I could never figure out why the theatre address was referred to as 200 Pacific Heights, as that was the name of the shopping center not the actual street name. When giving directions to patrons, we either told them Skyline Blvd. at Sharp Park Rd.,or top of Westborough Blvd. You could NOT miss the huge marquee that faced out on Skyline. Nobody ever complained about getting lost!! That was a very attractive theatre, by the way, but could never compare to my Fox in Redwood City. That shopping center became a huge apt complex, sitting on top of San Andreas Fault. Can’t imagine living there!

To get the Fox Skyline’s location to map properly on Google Maps, it will be necessary to change the address to Skyline Blvd. & Sharp Park Rd.. The shopping center had to have been at the southwest corner of the intersection, and Westborough Boulevard runs only east from Skyline. Also, the location given for the theatre on an official inaugural program displayed at Larry Goldsmith’s Fox Skyline Collection is Sharp Park Road and Skyline Boulevard.

Incidentally, this theatre’s location was just about directly on top of the San Andreas Fault. It would have been a great place to see “Earthquake!”

Lots of fond memories of my days working at the Fox Skyline. I got the job through a couple of friends at school in 1977. The manager, Betty, was very cool and taught me how to run the projectors. Pretty soon I was the Projectionist! Later on, I even got to train the new manager of the Seaview. I think I made $2.10 an hour as the Assitant Manager. Betty left and John came in (wish I could remember last names), then we started running the midnight Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd double features. I remember very clearly the night that the marquis on Skyline Blvd. burned. We had a lot of fun – it never felt like real work.

this theatre was owned and operated by national general corp.lateron by mann theatres corp. unfortunatly he was only interested in real estate, he eventually sold off ,one by one the nations largest movie theatre chain. at the time fox theatres was the largest chain. now, mann theatre operates only 50 theatres out of over the original 600 nationwide. how sad.i know i was employed with that chain for many years. i still miss it! what ever happenedl to ferol tarentino, beverly brehmer, jo ann brown???? cclarry goldsmith at lgchaseinternational.com

While Cinema Treasures photo uploading feature is offline, I’m sure you’ve been waiting with baited breath to see a picture of the Fox Skyline Theater. Well here’s one on my boss new “Fox Skyline Shopping Center Homepage”: http://www.angelfire.com/ab8/foxskyline/